San’s most recent release is 2011′s Space Cadet, a departure from his previous output in that it trades heavy drum beats for piano playing and his scratching is more subtle and surreal than it is rave-inducing. It’s also the “soundtrack” to an accompanying graphic novel.

To present the album to fans, Kid Koala is presenting a very atypical concert experience, inviting fans to sprawl out on inflatable pods and listen to the live recreation of the music through wireless headphones – an experience that’s simultaneously isolating and communal, allowing fans to hear every small nuance of his performance.

It’s a cool concept that might not work for everyone (“Livin’ On A Prayer” just wouldn’t be the same), but has some interesting potential in terms of other applications. What do you think?

Shawn Bradley, a recording engineer/mixer/producer based in the national capital, has a recording blog on the go for our sister publication, Canadian Musician. In a recent post, Shawn caught up with Canadian born, American-based Anthony J. Resta (Elton John, Duran Duran) from his studio Bopnique Music, just west of Boston. It’s a good interview and a great blog. Check it out here.

Among the team were (pictured L-R) Systems Tech Terry Hilton, Monitor Engineer/Production Manager Deb Hutchins, and FOH engineer Jody Perpick. They were out with a system supplied by Rob Nev and Vancouver’s Gearforce.

Get your hands on the April 2012 issue of PS to hear how they fared with one of Canada’s most treasured vocalists.

In the spirit of the season, Professional Sound wants your input on your past and planned approach to trade shows, particularly for the next 12 months. If you’ve got the time, kindly visit the link below and offer us your valuable insight.

http://www.nor.com/nwcsurvey/index.php?sid=55327&lang=en

For those in the media production industries, February 29th is a good day to revisit drop-frame SMPTE time code, because both leap year and drop-frame time code came into being for the sole purpose of reconciling two different time bases on which we do things with mundane regularity.

Take the calendar first: our calendar simply charts the sequence of the individual days that comprise a single year. The day is based, of course, on a single rotation of the earth on its axis, whereas the year is based on a single revolution of the earth around the sun. Rotation and revolution are the two different time bases on which our calendar is constructed.

Since it takes about 365.25 days for the earth to revolve around the sun, we collect four of those quarter days and add them together into a single day—February 29—that appears on the calendar once every four years.

We do this because there’s no such thing as a quarter-day: you couldn’t start a New Year at 6:00 a.m. After all, a day is a day and cannot be partitioned like that. It’s an integer.

It’s important to see that the concept of the yearly calendar comprises 366 days—February 29 is not imaginary. But rather than adding it every four years, what we are really doing is dropping it from the calendar in every year that is not a multiple of four. If the year is not divisible by 4, then we drop February 29 from our count of days in that year.

It’s exactly the same with drop-frame time code, where frames are analogous to days, and hours to years. A video frame is a whole thing, an integer, and we count 30 of them in one second. But the rate at which they proceed is a bit less than 30 per second, more like 29.97 frames per second.

This is the same sort of fractional discrepancy that exists in the annual rate of 365.25 days per year.

We deal with it the same way, by dropping 2 frames from the count at the very beginning of every minute that is not a multiple of 10. In that first second, there are only 28 frames.

So frames 00 and 01 simply do not exist at the beginning of every minute of time code that doesn’t have a zero at the end of it (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 00 minutes being the exceptions), just as February 29 does not exist in any year that can’t be divided by 4. It’s as simple as that.

Why go to the bother of doing this? For the calendar, it’s long been considered important that the seasons start at roughly the same time every year: if we didn’t have February 29 as a corrective, then the beginning of Spring, for example, would progress steadily back through February, January, December, and so on as the years rolled by.

For producers, it’s important that the time displayed by your time code reader agrees with the real-time clock on the control room wall. Without drop-frame time code, a one-hour program as measured by your time code would actually run 3 seconds and 18 frames too long, and that would wreak havoc with broadcast schedules.

Note that what we are NOT doing is cutting out frames from our program and leaving them on the cutting room floor, as some of my former students at the Toronto Film School used to believe. Those “dropped” frames are simply never there in the first place, just as February 29 will not “be there” in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The calendar works as “drop-day” code.

The takeaway from this blog entry is that if you can intuitively grasp the concept of leap year, then you’ve already got the essence of drop-frame time code. Conceptually, they are one and the same.

With that as the basic mandate, I invite you to share any feedback on previous editions, or ideas for folks who may have something valuable to say for future issues. We’ve had top administrators from the NAB and AES, executives from some of Canada’s elite A/V integrators or sound and lighting firms, and some legends from the record production industry. Basically, as long as it has to do with audio and presents an opinion that would be of interest to other industry professionals, it’s worth considering.

We’d love to hear from you…

This pre-NAB event, known for bringing together production professionals with the very latest innovations and technologies, is a great opportunity for any film, television, digital media, or audio professional to take advantage of this networking opportunity and technology showcase.

The event also provided an attendees and opportunity to sit in on informative seminars covering a wide array of topics related to the film and audio industries.

“We’re thrilled to be hosting the 10th anniversary of February Freeze at the new William F. White Centre,” says Paul Bronfman, William F. White International Chairman/CEO. “What better place is there to get hands-on, free training on various topics for a wide range of skill levels?  From seasoned pros to students, there will be something for everyone.”

This year’s event boasted an attendance of 1,000 leading film and television production professionals spanning regions from Ontario to the U.S. while showcasing the latest in technology from over 40 prominent motion picture, broadcast, and live entertainment industry suppliers.

For more information, visit www.cinequipwhite.com.

1) Know thyself: have your hearing tested.

Often, hearing loss issues are initially detected by family and friends rather than the person experiencing it. “When a person frequently has trouble understanding conversations in places where there is significant background noise, such as at parties, crowded restaurants and clubs, it might be a good time for a hearing test and an ear examination,” observes John W. House, MD, President of House Research Institute and physician at the House Clinic. Find out where you stand so you can understand and address the personal risks you may face – hearing exams take just minutes. Noise induced hearing loss begins in the higher frequencies and does not affect speech frequencies until it is advanced.  Therefore, a screening audiogram is advised for those who are exposed to loud noise.

2) Know thy surroundings: avoid potentially dangerous environments

By ensuring you are in a safe listening environment, you mitigate the risk of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). “If you have to raise your voice to be heard, you are likely in an environment with sound levels exceeding 85 dBA,” says Marilee Potthoff, Director of Community Outreach and Education at House Research Institute. Musicians and engineers depend on good hearing for their careers, but also are at high risk for hearing damage from prolonged sound exposure on the job. If you’re in the sound industry, it’s important for your hearing health to carefully monitor your sound environments that reach above 85 dBA both on and off the job, and know how much to limit your exposure.  When relaxing with your personal stereo or player, we recommend keeping the volume setting at no louder than 60 percent of maximum potential.

3) Use it or lose it: make the right choices in hearing protection

Educate yourself on what kind of hearing protection is truly effective. “Select hearing protection devices that provide the appropriate amount of sound reduction. Hearing protection with an NRR (noise reduction rating) of around 25 to 35 dB offers better protection for loud music environments than devices with lower NRRs.  Using devices with a much lower NRR may result in significant damage to the inner ear when exposed to high level [loud] sounds,” says Andrew Vermiglio, AuD, HRI Research Audiologist and California State University Northridge Audiology Professor. Some custom ear plugs – which are available through licensed audiology clinics, including the House Clinic – offer a flatter attenuation across the frequency range and may make listening to loud music more enjoyable than standard, over-the-counter earplugs, such as foam or pre-molded plugs. Standard earplugs tend to “colourize” what you hear by filtering the high frequencies more than the low frequencies.

4) Keep it clean: Ears need good hygiene, too

Earwax may not be the most popular discussion topic in the world, but it is certainly worth knowing about. Knowing how to safely remove wax and dirt build up will help you keep your hearing on the right track in 2012 and beyond. “Never insert foreign objects into your ear canal, including cotton swabs – instead, use a warm washcloth to gently clean the outer area of your ears or an over the counter ear wax removal solution,” says Dr. House. Other ear cleaning methods known as ear candling or coning are dangerous, not effective, and can easily damage your ear canal.

5) Make a date: Have your ears checked on a regular basis

Have your hearing checked annually.  If you notice a change in the state of your hearing, seek immediate medical attention. “Annual hearing exams may help to identify potential hearing loss issues while there is still time to rectify them,” says Vermiglio. Also, symptoms such as hearing loss, ringing in the ears, dizziness or loss of balance, may be related to a serious medical condition.

So whether you are a musician, or just enjoy listening to music with friends, follow these basic steps and put your hearing first in 2012 – because once you lose it, you may never be able to get it back.  For more information, visit the House Research Institute website at http://www.houseresearch.org.

I took a tour with President Peter Hendrickson during the company’s recent All-Access trade show, and it’s absolutely massive. The building will help the company enhance its service department and shipping processes, and also allow them to introduce a new “express counter” for smaller rentals by DJs, bands, etc. This space will also act as a showroom, which has the company’s suppliers quite excited.

Congratulations to the TTE team for the giant step forward.

Find out more at www.digitalmediasummit.ca. There’s a current promotion in place to save 40 per cent on registration…